Hey there.

Thank you for taking the time to learn about me.

My name is Marco Abreu and i am a Webdesigner, please scroll down and i will introduce myself.

1977

So my story begins...
15 September 1977
I was born in a small town called Börken in Germany close to the Netherlands.Son of hard-working portuguese emmigrants, youngest of three sons (in this case, 2 sisters and me).
Going back to my roots.
Somewhere in 1979
Having saved enough money and missing home, my parents took the decision of taking the long trip back to Portugal and i was raised there in a small town close to the historical town of Coimbra.
My studies in Portugal
June 1995
I finished highschool. I was 17 years old, never missed a year. Was not a A student but always worked very hard and was a B/B+ student. I had to choose between sciences, maths or language studies, chose language studies. Had german and french for 2 years and english for 8 years.I forgot most of german and french for the most part but since i came to Belgium i have been perfecting it.
University
June 2000
I did my university studies in ESE Jean Piaget in the town of Viseu. Portuguese/English teacher. Learned a lot more than just how to teach, learned patience, will power, motivation. Worked small jobs over the weekends to have some pocket money for my first computer.
My first job
October 2000
Applied for teacher jobs but was never lucky to find one so i took one that seemed attractive at the moment. At Gilford Mills,went to england for 4 months then the company moved to Portugal, this company produced automotive and specialty fabrics. Worked several stations and improved my english quite a lot. Worked there for 1 year and a half.
My first IT degree
November 2002
Took a 8 month intensive degree on IT area, all from Windows, office to cell phone programming, AUTOcad, etc.
Arriving in Belgium
September 2003
Getting harder and harder to find eaching jobs in Portugal i decided to come to Belgium and give it a try. First year was probably the hardest year in my life. Not speaking the language i looked for a job endlessly, mostly among the portuguese community but no success.
First job in Belgium
2004
Almost giving up but too stubborn to quit, i finally found a job as an independent in a dvd store, boosted my french and my energy to go forward. Worked there for a year. I managed the store.
My longest job run
2015
I quit my job in the dvd store and 3 days after i started working at the "Glaciere" in St Gilles. Worked there for 9 years. I started doing deliveries and handling production, always being hard working, honest, trustworthy i earned my way up to the point where i was doing everything inside the company. Production, delivery, teamleader, inventory, customer prospecting, invoices. Unfortunately my boss retired and the company was sold.
Where to next?
2015
So i was lost, the bomb was dropped on me and had to consider my options. IT and design had always been a passion. Criativity always flowed in my veins since i was a child. So i started looking around and stumbled into FIJ (Formation Insertion Jeunes).
My absolute goal
9 June 2017
The last day of my internship. I have finished my webdesigner degree, 2 long but fruitful years have passed and i can say that it was amazing to be given tools to create whatever i want with a keyboard and a screen. I have finished a degree in a language that is not mine, saw my day by day progress throughout these years and i love what i do, from the smallest icon, to an ellaborate website, always leaving my imprints on each one, small details that will stand out from the rest.

About me

This is me, my name is Marco Abreu, living in Belgium since 2003. 39 years old from Portugal.

Portuguese is my native language, I speak and write fluent English and French.

I studied Portuguese and English at the university and was always passionate about design. Life’s small twists and turns lead me to work on different areas and it wasn’t until 2014 that I decided that I should do something about what inspires me and due to the fact that the company where I worked for almost 9 years being sold I considered taking a u-turn and dedicated 2 years to learning web design.

I am very creative and love a good challenge. Learning webdesign was a challenge by itself. I learned it in a language that is not my own, saw and showed my progress week after week at FIJ and I accomplished something that pleases me a lot.

I enjoy creating unique designs for my websites, each one carrying a small part of me.

Detail is the keyword for me, the job itself motivates me and that will make me stand out.

Currently looking for a job, I have created this portfolio to have a chance to show a glimpse of what I can do.

Qualifications

Code

HTML5, CSS3, Jquery, PHP, AJAX, XML, Angular JS

Design

Photoshop, Illustrator, Indesign, Flash, Bootstrap, Wordpress,

Creativity

I love creating my own designs, icons and small details that will make each site unique.

Perfectionism

I am determined, i never start anything that i wont finish, self motivated and i strive to reach perfection. Every single detail matters.

Portfolio - Websites

Here is where you can have a glimpse of what i have been doing, all these websites are fully functional and complete. Some where created at FIJ, others where personnal projects, i wanted to practise as much as i could what i was learning.